Reviews by Kendo:

A: Poured into a Spirit Haus pint glass. Body is black. Notwithstanding a moderately aggressive pour, there's only a slight wispy film of a head. Does leave some splotches of lace, however.

S: Not terribly strong in the nose -- faint roasted barley is about it. Hint of cocoa powder.

T: Wow -- this is good. Flavor-wise, Saranac has hit the points I want to see hit in an Irish Dry Stout. Roasted malt, a touch of sourmash, even lactose is there. Cocoa powder lingers into the aftertaste. Finishes dry with a good bitterness.

M: Tiny bit heavier than light in heft, though not approaching medium bodied. Carbonation is a tad bit prickly; I'd love to have this on cask.

D: Excellent drinkability. Light in heft but flavorful -- in a balanced way between roasted barley malt and bitterness.

Notes: I bought the "What Ales You" 12-pack after grabbing a sixer of this and putting it back. Wishing now I'd bought that six-pack and had more than one remaining. Might just be the best Saranac beer I've had as far as nailing the style goes.

More User Reviews:

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a pint glass. The bottle has no freshness date or abv% listed. This bottle was part of the Saranac "What Ales You?" 12 pack.

Appearance: The body is black as night and blocks out all light. On top of this dark opaque brew there is a light tan colored head which is tall (about 2 and a half fingers thick) and long lasting. It also makes great intricate lace patterns on the glass as I drink.

Smell: Its aroma is full of dark roasted and toasted barley malt with inviting deep coffee notes.

Taste/Palate: There is a nice mellow roasted barley and toasted maltiness with the same coffee like notes in the nose. There is only light malt sweetness here before the hops come in and adds bitterness and dryness along with earthy and herbal spice flavor. It is not bone dry but it finishes on the dryer side with nice hop notes and roasted notes quick fading off the tongue. It has a solid medium body, smooth texture and good soft yet active carbonation.

Notes: Overall this was good solid dry stout. I am a fan of Saranac but this one still surprised me. I would take this over a Guinness Draught any day!

Deep dark appearance, it does let some ruby highlights through when held toward the light. Tan khaki head builds up and lasts for a quite a few minutes before dwindling. After my fist sip even layers of fine lacing form and continue to trend after each sip. Aromatics are coming with the dark roasted malts, bringing out coffee and dark chocolate tones. Nothing about it is overbearingly sweeet, maybe a slight sour mash and an herbal hop presence. Flavor has iced coffee like presence, with herbal hops and a hint of chicory. Dark dry baker's chocolate and a tart sour dough finish. This is an excellent dry Irish Stout, I'm glad FX Matt attempted this. Drinkability is solid I hope to see full sixers of this, god knows we love the pricing of their beers especialy in WV.

This is, just as it should be, a thick, black stout. A creamy light brown head settles just under 2 fingers high with some sturdy hold to it, retaining itself well before fading to a strong foam that leaves thick lacing at the top of the glass in rings before dropping off to spotting.
Smoke and roasted barley are prevalent in the nose with plenty of malt backbone, a bit of wood, and some coffee. This one's a tough call; it's a 4 in quality but just doesn't quite have the strength and gusto it needs to reach it.
The beauty of this one is that it gets the balance and all the smoky, roasted barley and coffee it goes for with no harshness or astringency and offers a nice, strong bitterness that remains malt-centered. There's nothing off here. Soy sauce, I assume, would imply infection and seems to be more of a problem in roastier stouts. There's nothing of the kind here.
I'm completely impressed by the initial smoothness that just rolls off my tongue and flows beautifully. That does taper out as it goes and, as it warms, more carbonation comes through when it was perfectly attuned before. Still, a very nice mouthfeel overall in a rich, full-bodied Irish stout. As it should be.
This is one of Saranac's better offerings and a great take on a lesser loved style.

A sweeter version of a dry Irish stout. Black body with a creamy head. A whiff of smoke. Not so dry, and in fact a decent tastiness and drinkability. Half decent mouthfeel, a tad watery and a bit of caramel to give it some feel. If stuck, I would have it again. Thanks Radek.

doesn't have the 5.0 look of a Guinness, but nice fluffy head, big bubbles, some sheet-lacing...and dark as midnight during a new moon.

toasty burnt-ish nose that isn't overwhelming. caramel, too.

not as creamy-perfect as you know what, but quite similar. this has a little more 'bite' but still quite mellow and drinkable. carbonated to keep it a bit more crisp than expected (in a nice way), but still smooth and creamy. i like the snappy bite on the finish. a bit sour. a very drinkable stout that adds something different enough to stand out.

Notes: A decent looking glass of "Irish" stout despite the lack of nitrogen (well, that was only developed in the '60's or something anyway, right?). Brilliant lacing and better-than-very-good head retention. "Black" body, dark tan head. Aroma: roast. beer. slightly nutty. I'm getting more out of it than Guinness. Flavor: similar to aroma. some twang. minor maltiness. balanced bitterness. surprisingly well put together. no flaws, other than the fact that the style itself isn't exactly "rounded" or "balanced". Finishes dry and subtly tangy and roasty. Overall, impressive. There are a lot of breweries that have taken a stab at the style, and many have missed the mark - not Saranac.

Picked up a case from Shangy's for $25 and shared it with friends around St. Pat's Day. Saranac did a good job of brewing a tasty Guinness-like beer, but I've had better Irish stouts. While there's a respectable sour/bitter tang, I would have liked more roast and chocolate flavor. I'm not saying it needed a lot. I'm just saying there was hardly any. Still, for the price it's totally worth trying if you like stouts.